Memphis served with Blueberry hand pies

 Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow and served with Blueberry Hand Pies 

This family saga is so good!!   3 generations of black women in Memphis and their loves, struggles and destiny.    The story is told by August, Miriam, Joan and Hazel.  Miriam escapes a violent husband and heads back to Memphis to live with her sister August.   We hear the story of Hazel, their mother.  We see Joan, her oldest daughter struggle to overcome a trauma that happened years before and we see the incredible strength of all of these women.    I felt like Memphis was also a character in the book.  Now I really want to go there!  

The author did a great job of capturing the racism  and also  the impact of significant historical events of the time.   Each woman had their own voice and each story was impactful.   Not sure who my favorite was.  I think I started off with Joan as my favorite but near the end i realized that I just loved August and her sorrow and strength.    I would have liked for Mya, the youngest sister to have a chapter.    I listened to this one on audio and it was great!  the narrators did a wonderful job!   ⭐⭐⭐⭐

There are Pie's all throughout this book  A blackberry pie, Lemon meringue pie, blueberry pie.  There was actually a good amount of food throughout as Memphis is known for some good southern cooking.  I decided to stick with the pie theme.  I made blueberry hand pies in the air fryer!!     they were pretty yummy but the problem with the air fryer is that they look perfect on the top but the bottoms , not so much.  

I did blueberries on the stove with a little bit of sugar and cornstarch.    I cooked those down for about 10-15 minutes until the blueberries were soft and the filling was slightly thick.   I rolled out store bought pie crust and cut out circles.  was able to get 4 pies from one crust.  Put a dollop of blueberry filling in and pressed them down.    Put a little bit of water on your finger and run it around the edge of the pie crust before pressing it down.  I brushed it with an egg wash and  sprinkled them with decorator sugar and cut 2-3 slits on top.  Spray your air fryer basket so they don't stick!   Heat at 360 for 7-9 minutes.   Try not to burn your fingers eating them!!